There for You
by Pennywhistle78
Summary: Alice couldn't just have let her pain for her father go so quickly, not after being so obsessed with it for so long. And who better to comfort her than Hatter?


Hatter could tell that something wasn't quite right when there was still no response after his fifth knock at Alice's front door. He tried the knob and found the door unlocked. "Alice?" he called as he poked his head through the door. "Are you in here, luv?"

Silence answered Hatter as he let himself into the large, open flat Alice shared with her mother. A chill ran through him as he looked around the empty living room. It wasn't like Alice to miss a date, nor did she ever forget to lock the multiple deadbolts on the heavy front door. Hatter flexed the fingers of his right hand into a fist, ready for whatever might be lurking in the shadows.

"Alice?" Hatter called again, more urgently this time. He tried to calm the thoughts that flashed through his head. Robbed, raped, murdered. Possibly a rogue suit that still held loyalties to the Red Queen. _Stop it,_ he told himself, taking comfort in the fact that there was no sign of struggle in the flat. _Alice can fight. She's all right. She __has__ to be_.

He made his way to her bedroom, right hand still raised in a fist, and paused at her door. He could hear the faint sounds of her muffled crying. Hatter knocked on the door with his fist and turned the knob without waiting for her response.

Hatter had never seen Alice in such a state. Curled in a ball on her bed, she sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow. Her body shuddered as her breath hitched and a fresh sob forced itself out of her. Hatter was torn between wanting to rush to comfort her and simultaneously wanting to beat the daylights out of whoever had put her in this state. He just hoped it wasn't him.

He hesitated a second and then crossed the room in two quick strides to be by her side. He sat beside her, one hand tentatively touching her back, feeling her body shaking. His other hand reached out for hers, pulling it away from her face. Hatter was shocked by the pain he saw reflected in her eyes. "Alice," he said softly, "what is it? What's happened?"

Alice flushed and wiped at her eyes and her nose, which had been running. She put on a brave face, which lasted for about five seconds before it crumpled into fresh tears. "It's my father," she choked out. "He's – he's – he's really gone. He's dead."

Hatter was confused. Nearly a month had passed since Alice's adventures in Wonderland, and while she had been understandably upset to watch her father die in front of her, she had been in relatively good spirits ever since Hatter had shown up at her apartment under the alias of "David."

"I'm sorry, Alice," Hatter began, one hand still gently resting on her back. He began to lightly stroke her back in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "Not to be a brute, but I sorta thought you were all right with it by now. You've been so happy since I've seen you here in your world. Where'd this about-face come from?"

Alice shook her head miserably. "I've been looking for my father since he disappeared ten years ago. He was killed trying to protect me." She closed her eyes as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. "He died protecting me, and now I'll never get him back."

Hatter stopped rubbing Alice's back as he regarded her pure, honest misery. She had fooled him into thinking she was happy, with no ill-effects from her time spent in Wonderland. Had it all been an act? Did she really enjoy the time the two of them had spent together in the last month, or had it all been a put-on?

Alice put her hand on his and regarded him, her blue eyes red from crying. "The only reason I've been able to hold it together this long is because of you, Hatter," she said, sniffling. "If you hadn't come through the Looking Glass to be with me, I would have fallen apart a long time ago. You don't know how happy I am to have you." The thrill her words should have brought him was belied by the contradictory emotion on her face as she began to cry again in earnest.

"Shh, Alice, luv," Hatter said soothingly, holding her hand up to his lips and giving it a gentle kiss. He tried to keep his voice calm and even, but inside he felt a storm of confusion from the intensity of her emotions. "How can I help, hmm? Let me fix you a cup of tea, at least. Maybe with some biscuits? Cake?" He threw out offers helplessly as Alice just cried harder. "Shiny baubles?" he asked, his voice rising to a pitiful squeak. Hatter thought he'd offer her any one of the moons of Wonderland if only it would bring back a smile to her face.

Alice looked up into his concerned brown eyes, her own red and filled with her grief. "Just…just hold me," she asked him, her voice strangely hesitant. "I just need you to hold me."

"Of course," Hatter said, taking her into his arms as she pressed her face to his chest. Alice inhaled deeply, taking in Hatter's musky, masculine scent, so unlike her father, who always smelled vaguely of the industrial soap he used while working in his laboratory at the university. She felt secure being enveloped in Hatter's arms, and as she relaxed against him she could feel the walls she'd carefully built around her heart begin to come down.

Hatter held Alice for several minutes while she got herself under control, stroking her long hair gently. Alice took a deep breath and parted from Hatter's embrace, smiling weakly. "I—I'm okay," she said, answering the unspoken question on his face. "I'm just sorry you had to see me like that."

Hatter's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about? You don't need to apologize to me for showing a spot of emotion. You know, I kinda like it."

Alice shook her head and resisted Hatter's attempts to pull her into another hug. "I'm not usually so weak," she said, sounding disgusted. "If I have a problem, I can work it out by doing karate." She took a deep breath and tried to center herself. Hatter saw a new determination in her eyes. "I'm not weak," she whispered to herself.

Comprehension dawned on Hatter as he realized why Alice had such a hard time trusting him when they first met. "My poor Alice," he said, touching her cheek gently with one hand and looking her softly in the eyes. "You've had a wall around your heart for the past ten years, haven't you?"

Alice flinched but didn't shy away from his touch. "What do you mean?"

"You told me y'had a bad record with liking guys," he tucked a stray lock of black hair behind her ear. "I imagine it's difficult for them to stick around long if they can't get past your defenses."

Alice glared at him, swatting his hand away from her face. "I had to be strong for my mom. I was all she had. Those guys just couldn't handle it."

Hatter smirked and leaned back on the bed, stretching out along the length of Alice's blue bedspread. "And me?" he asked. "D'ya think I can handle it? Especially now that I've seen you with your defenses down like that."

Alice flushed and looked down at her lap. He was right. She'd shown weakness, lost control, let her guard down. Historically, that was the point in a relationship when she made up some silly excuse to end it quickly. 'He wasn't tall enough' was a favorite, as was 'His eyes are too close together.' Was she going to start looking for some non-existent flaw in Hatter now that he'd seen her so vulnerable? She could feel the old, familiar panic rising within her.

She was about to do something she'd regret, she knew it. She cared for Hatter more than she'd cared for any of those guys in her past, even Jack, but old habits died hard.

A strong hand on her chin and a soft kiss on her lips broke her out of her destructive thoughts. She blinked, surprised to see Hatter inches from her face, winking at her.

"Hey," he said gently. "You are the strongest woman I've ever known. And believe me; I've known a lot of wom—er, right. Probably not the best time for that," he broke off after a glare from Alice. "My point is, not only did you take down the Suits on your own, you stood up to the flippin' Queen of Hearts! No one in Wonderland was ever brave enough to do that. You're amazing, Alice."

Hatter leaned closer and kissed Alice squarely on the forehead. "I kinda like that underneath all that, you've still got a vulnerable side. 'Cause that's where I fit in, yeah? You're strong enough to take care of yourself, but now you've got me here when things start getting tricky."

Tears began to pool in Alice's eyes as Hatter put an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "You've spent the last ten years protecting your heart. Now it's my turn," he whispered as Alice pressed her head close to his chest. He put his other arm around her and held her tightly. Alice inhaled deeply and released it in a long, jagged sigh as she felt the last of the fear and tension leave her body. She snuggled deeper into Hatter's embrace and fell asleep there, perfectly safe and content at last.

FIN


End file.
